History Repeats: The Alien and Sedition Acts Under Trump
Photo by Unsplash
As part of his plan to stifle immigration, President Donald Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, one of the four wartime laws of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which gives the President authority to detain or deport natives of an enemy nation without a hearing, based solely on their country of birth. While this law was enacted in the past to protect the U.S. against foreign sabotage during wartime, it ultimately opens the possibility to the abuse of power towards immigrants, especially during peacetime, while also violating many constitutional rights.
On March 15, 2025, Trump announced that the law would be in effect once again after claiming that there had been an invasion of a Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, declaring it a foreign terrorist organization just months into his second term. This proclamation, being reimplemented, could allow for the removal of Venezuelans aged 14 and older that he deems are members of the gang, without any hearing. This means there is no way to prove if the accusations against them are true. So, the big question still stands: Is this legal?
Some organizations have already filed lawsuits against the administration for trying to expedite the deportation process unlawfully and even allowing Trump to follow through with the proclamation in the first place. The American Civil Liberties Union, an American nonprofit civil-rights organization, stated that the “Alien Enemies Act is illegal because it's up to Congress to declare a state of war that allows detention of so-called ‘foreign aliens.’” According to Congress, this law can only be used against a foreign government or nation during wartime. However, it is currently being used against a gang and for immigration enforcement with no ongoing war, further questioning the legality of Trump’s invocation of it.
A federal judge even hindered Trump’s proclamation, instructing Trump to stop using wartime power as well as directing deportation flights that had already deported around 250 Venezuelans to an El Salvadorian prison center to return to the U.S. Despite the court order, the administration carried through with the deportation of the Venezuelans directly violating the federal judge’s instruction, stating, “The planes carrying the migrants were already in the air at the time of the ruling, so they didn't have to comply,” according to the National Public Radio. In present times, one must ask, where is the rule of law in our current government?
While the other three laws that are part of the Alien and Sedition Acts were repealed over 200 years ago, the Alien Enemies Act still stands. This discriminatory law has only been implemented three times in United States history, with the last time being used during World War Two for Japanese internment, a deplorable part of our history and one which you would think administrations would have learned from. Yet, today, we are disappointed to see that this may not be the case.
